Yesterday, was the dreaded second parent/teacher conference of the year. The one where most of the time the kids show an improvement because, of course, no matter how smart or good they could possibly be in September--they need an incentive to grow. So, this is the time the teachers usually, hopefully note the improvements or chastise remember we were going to help him work on...
Although I left the house with my "hello-world-ready-for-anything" poker face, I was still nervous. Because, lets face it, as a mom, an enlightened, hands on, overly doting, new aged: I'm not too intrusive, not totally living through you but I've got your back, type of mom--it reflects on me (us--Tom) as parents. So as nervous as my kids were, magnify that three-fold. It'll be my fault if they aren't doing well, right?
The surprises in life are wondrous. Good report cards and showing great test scores is one thing but I was thrilled to hear, "I'm not really supposed to say this or judge but Melanie is such a happy child."
Is it teacher spin to put the parent at ease? I'd like to think not because it was an after thought, a whisper kind of going out into the hallway as I was deposited back into the crowd moving down the hall towards another classroom.
We must be doing something right, I thought with neon light beaming pride on the drive home. "Happy!!" She's happy. This is a child whom I butt heads with on more than one occasion daily. A child who has fits when her socks "throw up" she calls it as they loosen and bunch at the toes. A child whose emotions skyrocket and plummet in zero.3 seconds when asked to brush her hair or teeth. Happy!
That glow continued even through my return home to:
"Mom, you said we could buy books at the book fair, you forgot."
"There's nothing to eat."
"Daisy, pooed in the house, again."
Happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment